Harvey Weinstein’s conviction as a rapist on Monday brings a poignant end to the spectacular downfall of one of the most powerful men in the entertainment industry.
After angrily denying claims that he had forced himself on women since the allegations became public in 2017, Weinstein now must wait until March 11 for his sentence on two counts; third degree rape and first degree criminal sexual act.
They pertain to two incidents; the rape of Jessica Mann in 2013 and him forcibly performing oral sex on Mimi Haleyi in 2006.
Weinstein, 67, was born and raised in Queens, New York. He and his brother Bob had a fascination with film and a passion for it.
They parlayed it into Miramax, a distribution company named after their parents Miriam and Max, in the 1970s.
In the company’s infancy, it distributed art-house films and documentaries but it caught the attention of more serious players and in 1993, Disney acquired the company for $80million in a deal that kept Bob and Harvey in leadership positions.
From then on, Weinstein and his brother became the men to impress in Hollywood.
Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob in 1989 after launching Miramax. The pair sold it to Disney for $90million in the early 1990s
Their movies, always featuring the most in-demand star and with esteemed directors attached to them, gave him an unprecedented position of power and rich.
It also kicked off the years of alleged abuse which led up to the two incidents he was convicted of on Monday.
In private, Weinstein was allegedly forcing himself on actresses who he promised to put in movies.
The claims date back to around 1994, the year Miramax released Pulp Fiction.
In 1997, the success reached new heights; Miramax won its first Oscar with The English Patient. Shakespeare in Love was its next hit.
When Gwyneth Paltrow won Best Actress for her performance in the movie at the 1999 Oscars, she thanked Weinstein on stage.
It was after he’d allegedly made advances on her by suggesting they both get massages when she was 22 and had been offered a role in a screen adaptation of Emma.
In 2005, they left Miramax to found The Weinstein Company.
By then, Weinstein had divorced his first wife, Eve Chilton, with whom he has three children.
Gwyneth Paltrow celebrates with Harvey Weinstein after winning an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love in 1999
Weinstein with Tom Cruise at the premiere of The Others in Los Angeles in 2001
Weinstein with RusselL Crowe and Renee Zellweger at the after party for The Cinderella Man at the Venice Film Festival in 2005
Weinstein with Oprah in 2014 in London
The pair tied the knot in 1984 and remained married until 2004. He married fashion designer Georgina Chapman in 2007.
While Weinstein continued to dominate the industry, women were secretly talking behind his back about his reputation for being a predator.
Some warned each other not to take meetings in hotel rooms if he’d set them.
Others had the meeting set for them by their agents and feared retribution or a missed opportunity if they did not attend and subsequently give in to what they say he wanted.
The rumors against him gradually gathered speed as he signed agreements with accusers in civil court which meant they could not speak about what had happened under the terms of non-disclosure agreements.
On October 5 2017, the wave crested.
The New York Times published a story citing multiple women – including actress Ashey Judd – who said Weinstein had either forced himself on them or used his power to get them to have consensual sex with him.
The New Yorker also had a piece in the works that was the result of years of investigating by Ronan Farrow.
Together, they laid out decades of allegations and triggered the #MeToo movement. Three days later, he was dismissed from The Weinstein Company. He sued them to get access to his emails.
Harvey, defiant, denied it all and began sending emails to friends asking for their continued support and trust.
Wife number 1: Weinstein married Eve Chilton in 1984 and the pair had four kids before divorcing in 2004
Weinstein and Georgina Chapman, his second wife, while she was pregnant in 2013 on the red carpet of the Oscars. He raped Jessica Mann a month later
His wife, Georgina, announced she was leaving him on October 11, six days after the first stories went public.
As more women spoke out against him, others felt compelled to speak out against other powerful men who they feel wronged them.
Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow joined a chorus of women accusing him of misconduct or plain abuse.
Slowly, the movement picked up and Hollywood followed.
The revelations about Weinstein triggered wider movements like #MeToo and Time’s Up
In November 2017, the NYPD said it was investigating a ‘credible’ threat against him.
Throughout the 2018 awards season, female actors wore black on the red carpet and proudly pinned buttons with the phrase Time’s Up to the their couture garments.
Weinstein was expelled by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Police forces internationally later confirmed they were also investigating claims against him.
Weinstein tried to rehabilitate his image. He went to
It was not until May 2018 that Weinstein was charged in New York. He was released on a $1million bond. He fled the city, taking up refuge in a suburb where he is close enough to his children with Chapman to see them.
Weinstein was originally charged in May 2018 over two alleged incidents; the 2013 ‘rape’ and a 2004 incident involving Lucia Evans who said he had forced her to perform oral sex on him.
In May 2018, Weinstein was finally taken into custody on sexual assault and rape charges. He laughed through it and paid a $1million cash bond
The third incident, which he remains charged over, was first revealed in a second indictment in August 2018.
The charge relating to Evans’ allegation was dropped in October 2018, however, after his lawyer’s proved that one of the detectives leading the case had failed to tell prosecutors that a witness doubted her account.
The two indictments were eventually consolidated into one and he will face trial over the alleged rape in 2013 and alleged oral sex in 2006.
The victims in those incidents were Jessica Mann and Mimi Haleyi.
In December, Weinstein settled with some of his accusers for $25million. It is unknown how much he has paid in legal fees, but his fortune of $150million has taken a substantial loss through lawyers’ bills, settlements and his divorce from Chapmnan, which was settled privately in January 2018 for eight figures.
The trial finally began after more than two years of legal to and fro in January.
It lasted a month. Jurors took five days to convict him.
Now, he says he will appeal it. He is yet to stand trial in California and will remain on Rikers Island until his New York sentencing on March 11.
Judgement day: Harvey Weinstein arrives at court on February 24. He was found guilty of rape and criminal sex act and will now face between five and 29 years behind bars